The most recent comprehensive review was conducted on 523 documents, including 76 laws, resolutions, and ordinances of the National Assembly and its Standing Committee; 230 decrees of the Government and decisions of the Prime Minister ; and 217 other legal documents issued by central agencies. The results revealed hundreds of regulations in these legal documents that were contradictory, overlapping, problematic, or inadequate.
In the 22 key areas (see table), 16 documents (including 8 laws, 6 decrees, and 2 circulars) were found to contain 18 conflicting or overlapping regulations. 104 documents contained 167 inadequate or problematic regulations. For documents not belonging to the aforementioned 22 key areas, 99 problematic or problematic provisions were also identified.
Furthermore, the government 's report to the National Assembly clearly states that the aforementioned contradictions and shortcomings only represent issues that have been agreed upon between the reviewing agency and the state management agencies in the relevant sectors and fields, and which the document governs. Issues with differing opinions or requiring time for classification and consideration have been "temporarily" excluded from the compilation. Meanwhile, not only laws but also guiding documents, decrees, and circulars are constantly increasing, and contradictions and shortcomings continue to arise.
At the ongoing 7th session of the 15th National Assembly, National Assembly Deputy Lo Thi Luyen (from Dien Bien province) cited a "problem that cannot be solved" in her locality due to conflicting and inconsistent regulations. Specifically, the Decree guiding the 2020 Environmental Protection Law stipulates that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is responsible for appraising environmental impact assessment reports for hydropower projects with a capacity of 20 MW or more. Meanwhile, the Decree guiding the 2012 Water Resources Law, currently in effect, stipulates that provincial People's Committees are only allowed to appraise environmental impact assessment reports for hydropower projects with a capacity of less than 2 MW.
This creates a "legal vacuum" as no agency is authorized to appraise environmental impact assessment reports for hydropower projects ranging from 2 to 20 MW. Dien Bien province has sent numerous documents requesting guidance from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, but without success. The Ministry responded that projects under 20 MW have been decentralized to the local level, but current regulations only allow local authorities to appraise projects under 2 MW.
"When the legal system is contradictory, overlapping, and inconsistently applied, civil servants will first and foremost prioritize their own safety. No one dares to do things where the law is unclear, as doing so would lead to legal consequences and personal risks. Currently, some officials have already suffered legal consequences due to unclear regulations. If someone is reckless and just decides to do something without thinking, they might do it blindly, but when an event occurs and inspection agencies intervene, only legal regulations will be applied to deal with the official," Ms. Luyen said, adding that evaluating the spirit, attitude, and responsibility of civil servants needs to be more focused on the "core essence" as it is closely related to the legal system.
The avoidance and fear of responsibility by officials due to overlapping, contradictory, and inconsistent application of the legal system is one of the reasons the National Assembly requested the Government to conduct a comprehensive review of the legal document system. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, in a recent discussion at a National Assembly committee, also acknowledged that this fear of responsibility stems from institutional obstacles. The economic recovery package of nearly 400,000 billion VND, implemented over two years (2022-2023), failed to achieve its expected goals primarily because it encountered a "forest of obstacles" in mechanisms and procedures.
In reality, officials' fear of making mistakes and taking responsibility may stem from many reasons besides the contradictions and overlaps in the legal system. However, to overcome this mentality, simply encouraging officials to think and act boldly is not enough; the shortcomings and overlaps in the legal system that have been identified must also be addressed. As Representative Tran Huu Hau (Tay Ninh delegation) stated, the law needs to be built in such a way that officials do not have to "think and act boldly" in the sense of "breaking the rules" or violating the law to overcome the practical shortcomings of the law. Otherwise, the "forest of obstacles," the bottlenecks and impediments in the institutional and legal framework will continue to cause stagnation, obstruction, and even hinder the country's development...
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/khong-de-can-bo-phai-xe-rao-185240612224831262.htm
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